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"The Cutty Wren" and its variants such as "The Hunting of the Wren" are traditional English folk songs. The origins and meaning of the song are disputed. It is number 236 in the
Roud Folk Song Index The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...
.


Origin

The song is thought by some to represent the
human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease deity, gods, a human ruler, public or jurisdictional demands for justice by capital punishment, an authoritative/prie ...
of the Year King, or the symbolic substitute slaughter of the wren as "king of the birds" at the end of the year for similar purposes, and such songs are traditionally sung on Boxing Day (26 December), just after the winter
solstice A solstice is the time when the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly sun path, excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. Two solstices occur annually, around 20–22 June and 20–22 December. In many countries ...
. 26 December is sometimes called Saint Stephen's Day or Wren Day. These rituals are discussed in '' The Golden Bough''. It is alternatively attributed to the English Peasants' Revolt of 1381, and the wren is supposed to be the young king Richard II, who is killed and fed to the poor. However, there is no strong evidence to connect this song with the Peasants' Revolt. The idea seems to have originated in A.L. Lloyd's 1944 book ''The Singing Englishman''. The liner notes to Chumbawamba's album '' English Rebel Songs 1381–1914'' state categorically that the song was written in the fourteenth century. However, the earliest known text is from Herd's "Scots Songs" of 1776. The song is given no title, but begins with these words: The dialect word "cutty", meaning "small" or "short", is found in Northern England and the
Scottish lowlands The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...
, suggesting that versions of the song that use the word come from these regions. Variants of the song exist across the British Isles. In
Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...
a version called "The Brethren Three" (published 1915) describes the song as a lullaby. ("We'll aff tae the wids, says Tosie Mosie"). Aside from the English and Scottish versions, it exists in Welsh (Hela'r Dryw") and Manx ("Helg Yn Dreain"). In the USA the song has undergone considerable evolution into the song "Billy Barlow", first known in 1916.


The Hunting of the Wren

The Hunting of the Wren is thought by many folklorists to be related to the nursery-rhyme Who Killed Cock Robin. On or near the winter solstice people hunted and killed the wren for its supposed misdeed. The custom of killing wrens on 26 December was mostly stamped out in the British Isles by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, according to William S. Walsh in ''Curiosities of Popular Customs.'' In
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
a hunt for the wren generally took place on Saint Stephen's Day (26 December). In a procession the same night, lads dressed in bizarre costumes made of straw and colourful cloth carried branches from which hung the body of the wren, as they sang: On the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, up to the end of the eighteenth century, the ceremony (which has parallels in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and Galicia) was observed on Christmas morning. American versions mention a squirrel, rat or other small animal rather than a wren. The Chieftains' stage performances have included dancers dressed as Wrenboys in straw clothes. This has been captured on the album '' The Bells of Dublin'', which includes six tracks devoted to the ceremony, singing and dancing.


Traditional recordings

The song has also been recorded numerous times from traditional singers in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
; versions are available on the British Library Sound Archive from Newcastle, Hull,
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
and
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. Joe and Winifred Woods of Douglas,
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, sang a version of the song learnt in their childhood to Peter Kennedy in 1965, which can be heard on the British Library Sound Archive website. A few versions were recorded in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
including one sung by Don Gaetz of Clifton,
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
in 1967, which can be heard via the Max Hunter Folk Collection website.


Popular recordings

*1939: Topic Records TRC7 Side B, Topic Singers, as "Cutty Wren" *1953: '' American Folk Songs for Children'', Pete Seeger, as "Billy Barlow" *1955: '' The Lark in the Morning'', Liam Clancy, as "The Wran Song" *1958: "Texas Folksongs", Alan Lomax, as "Billy Barlow" *1962: "Songs of Protest", The Ian Campbell Folk Group, as "The Cutty Wren" *1967: "So Much for Dreaming", Ian and Sylvia, as "Cutty Wren" *1977: "No Relation", Royston and Heather Wood, as "The Cutty Wren" *1977: "Sound Sound Your Instruments of Joy", The Watersons, as "Joy, Health, Love and Peace" *1978: '' Live at Last'', Steeleye Span, as "Hunting The Wren" *1979: "The Second Nowell", John Roberts, Tony Barrand, Fred Breunig & Steve Woodruff, as "The Cutty Wren" *1980: "Tidewave", Robin Dransfield as "The Cutty Wren" – Topic vinyl LP recorded 1974/79/80 published 1980, re-released as Disk 1 of double CD set "A Lighter Touch", 2008. *1986: '' Winter's Turning'', Robin Williamson, as "Hunting the Wren" *1988: '' English Rebel Songs 1381-1914'', Chumbawamba, as "The Cutty Wren (Part 1)" and "The Cutty Wren (Part 2)" *1991: '' The Bells of Dublin'', The Chieftains, six tracks *1994: "Yellowknife Evening", Ceilidh Friends, as "The cutty wren" *1994: "The Day Dawn", Boys of the Lough, medley of four Scots and Irish wren tunes *1994 "The Lovers Enchained", Annwn, as "The Cutty Wren" *1996: "Smoked Fish And Friends", Leslie Fish, as "Cutty Wren" *1996: ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', Steeleye Span, as "The Cutty Wren" *1998: "Wassail!", John Kirkpatrick, as "Hunting the Wren" *2001: "Up in the North, Down in the South" Bill Whiting (Virginia) as "I'm Going to the Woods" *2003: '' English Rebel Songs 1381-1984'', Chumbawamba, as "The Cutty Wren" *2006: ''Ballad of America volume 2'', Matthew Sabatella, as "Billy Barlow" *2009: ''The Awkward Recruit'', Mawkin:Causley, as "Cutty Wren" *2009: ''Tales from the Crow Man'', Damh the Bard as "The Cutty Wren" *2012: ''Lips of Clay'' album by Solarference, as "Milder and Mulder" *2021: "The Cutty Wren" and "Hela'r Dryw Bach," ''Says the Never Beyond'', an album of traditional Christmas carols of the British Isles by Burd Ellen *2021: ''The Cutty Wren'', The Cutty Wren EP, Helen McCookerybook & Willie Gibson, Gare du Nord Records *2024: "Voyage", The Longest Johns as "John The Red Nose" There is a Breton tune called "The Wren", played by Maggie Sansone on the album ''A Celtic Fair'' (2007), but it is not clear if this is related to the ceremony. Jack Bruce utilized the melody of "Cutty Wren" for the bass part in the Cream's 1968 song "Pressed Rat and Warthog." A 1990 parody of the song, titled "Hunting the Cutty Wren", can be found on the album "Oranges and Lemmings" by the Mrs Ackroyd Band, with lyrics by Les Barker, performed by
Martin Carthy Martin Dominic Forbes Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in English folk music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, as well as later ar ...
and June Tabor.


Other uses

''Cutty Wren'' is also the name of a ship in the novel ''
Nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...
'' by
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
.Cutty Wren
on Lspace.org - Discworld & Pratchett Wiki.


See also

* Cock Robin * Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood ''Hunting the Wren...Transformation of Bird to Symbol'' 1997 * The Boys of Barr na Sráide


References

{{authority control Protest songs English folk songs Year of song unknown Songs with unknown songwriters Songs about birds